gold plating on SATA port scratched

Welcome to TSF mate,

I would recommend you ask the guys over in the Hardware Section for help as I don't know too much about the SATA port.

Don't worry about flaming, TSF is one of the few places where flaming simple doesn't happen (one of the reasons it is very popular).

Cheers,
Redeye

P.S. If you wish, I can PM one of the Hardware Team and ask them to check this thread

Are you referring to the port on the XBox or the connector plug on the HDD unit? I'm confused as to why it's not working as gold plating is more cosmetic than functional. Are all the connection pins still straight?

All the connection pins on both the power and SATA cable are straight and accounted for, but I've read that if the gold plating is scratched off on the inside of the port it can stop it from working and this seems to be the only thing wrong with the connections at all.

I am starting to doubt that it's the SATA port tbh. The drive doesn't spin up and there is no response from the laser. Plus the xbox middle light blinks indicating that no drive is plugged in at all. So I am thinking it's something with the drives power cable, port, or solder joints. The pins are straight and all there but for some reason it just doesn't work. I am probably gonna reflow it in my oven as this box has been giving me a lot of problems including e74 so... meh. Done the research and it doesn't work as it is so I see no down side to a broken xbox going in an oven. Done it before with friends and it worked out great.

You should check the pins with a multimeter to see if power is indeed running to the pins before attempting anything else.